Originally posted June 2, 2014

Berkeley-The financial disarray at the Pacifica Foundation is increasing, and posing a serious threat to the continuing operations of the 5-station national network. The annual tax return (990 form) for the year ending 9-30-2012 has never been posted to the foundation’s website, as the return prepared under the supervision of fired then rehired CFO Raul Salvador, was filled with mistakes. Plans to amend the return within a year of filing have been delayed and possibly scotched by the new board majority regime which took over in February.

The return, which can be found here (the download can be opened using the password “pacifica) and here in the final return filed, was signed by Executive Director Reese under protest after receiving it a day before it was due and without review by the board’s audit committee. Among other errors, it reports different income and expense numbers on the federal and state returns, and completely different numbers than those listed in the audit, omits the required Schedule B list of contributions, and reports interstation transfers as program services income. To get a hint of the funny numbers:

Total income (990) – $12,594,737 (federal)

Total income (199) – $12,935.031 (state)

Total income (audit) – $13,285,248

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Total expenses (990) – $13,615,297 (federal)

Total expenses (199) – $13,955,591 (state)

Total expenses (audit) – $14,258,927

It’s incomprehensible a tax return prepared weeks before the audit was released, and both done almost a year after the end of the fiscal year on 9-30-2012, could be $800,000 out of whack with each other and that an organization could even consider leaving such errors uncorrected. Plans to amend the return in the fall of 2012 were held until the IRS audit of fiscal year 2011 was completed (which Pacifica passed), but the new board, which prioritized firing Reese and re-hiring Salvador, has indicated no intention to amend Salvador’s return and has released no financial data since being seated on January 30, 2014. In the first audit committee meeting of the year on May 27th, the urgent need to amend the return was not mentioned.

This summary of 7 Reasons Why Pacifica Needs An Investigation breaks out the reckless and irresponsible actions of the new board. A complaint filed with the California Attorney General by 8 former board members can be found here.

After an 8-hour mediation between the re-hired CFO and the accounting staffers in the national office, at least two of the employees have quit due to their unwillingness to work with Salvador. The workplace investigation report done earlier this year in response to complaints filed by 5 staffers has still not been released to the Board of Directors since board chair Wilkinson took custody of it in March. The 2013 audit has not yet begun.

Private work agreements for IED Duncan and CFO Salavador have been negotiated by Wilkinson without board ratification and as of press date, inquiries by board members to see those signed documents have not been granted.

The annual bylaws amendment deadline has passed and proposed bylaws amendments will be posted today. Among the ideas suggested was one floated by Lydia Brazon and Margy Wilkinson to slice the size of the Pacifica National Board by restricting the Houston and Washington stations to one board member each, due to their smaller subscriber numbers. A competing amendment which reduced the size of the board equilaterally, has failed to be approved for 2 consecutive years due to the failure of local station boards to approve it.

The uproar about the obliteration of KPFA’s local community morning strip of programming, the Morning Mix, continues to smolder. Three consecutive demonstrations last week drew 100+ protestors to the station’s doors in Berkeley, only two weeks after the foundation’s headquarters next door were occupied for 8 weeks. Hear “The Uprising” broadcast on Memorial Day here. Demonstrators noted with amusement that the new surveillance camera hanging off the second floor had been redirected from pointing at the national office next door to pointing down at the front of KPFA.

The Morning Mix on the road is expected to hit some upcoming public events in the next few weeks, including possibly  the Lake Merrit Farmers Market, First Fridays and Berkeley Juneteenth. New change.org petitions have popped up objecting to the changes.

 KPFA management issued a written warning threatening termination to several paid and unpaid staff members including Anthony Fest, Dr. Peter Phillips, Andres Soto, local station board staff reps Joy Moore and Frank Sterling, Dennis Bernstein and Miguel Molina. Board majority-installed IED Bernard Duncan and Upfront host and PNB treasurer Brian Edwards-Tiekert were reported to have advocated for immediate termination of all following the Memorial Day broadcast.

KPFA’s receptionist has reported an overwhelming number of calls to the station’s front desk objecting to the supplanting of the Morning Mix with the Los Angeles-based show and demanding its return to the 8am slot. Listeners have also written to Sonali Kolhatkar, the host of the LA show and posted to her blog.

Continuing assertions that the change will boost fund drive totals are collapsing as data emerges about internal manipulations to “make Sonali’s show look better”. 10 years of fund drive reports from Los Angeles sister station KPFK document beyond a shadow of a doubt that the replacement program has had exactly the same financial performance at 8am in the morning as the local programs being replaced. See the fund drive daily reports from KPFK for May 1-20, 2014 with a $2,051 daily average.

Similar daily reports pulled for the December 2013 fund drive in Los Angeles document a $2,551 average for 9 broadcasts. The Morning Mix averaged $2,476/hr in KPFA’s fund drives.

KPFA unpaid staffer Richard Wolinsky published a comment on Facebook explaining the source of the temporaily inflated numbers being used to justify the programming chang

Morning Mix host and Project Censored director Mickey Huff agreed and mentioned how his own match funds called in to support Bonnie Faulkner’s Guns and Butter were pulled and used without his permission to support other shows at the fund drive room’s discretion.

Mickey Huff Indeed it happened on a couple of occasions. I phoned in matches myself in the past that were never announced on air for their intended programs (Guns and Butter) and when I talked w Bonnie (the host) she said no one ever told her about them…ever. So I cancelled the matches, but then the phone room czar said they were using them elsewhere, could they keep them.

How many “match funds” that came in during different hours of  the day were directed to the LA program during its trial run in the 3rd week of May has not been disclosed by KPFA.

Here is some audio of one particular pledge from attorney Dan Siegel that was allocated to the 8:00am hour. It should be noted that Siegel is not only the private attorney for the rogue board majority, but a candidate for the mayor of Oakland and Edwards-Tiekert plugging him on the air is a political advertisement.

KPFA LSB member (and United for Community Radio member) Samsarah Morgan wrote this piece in April about her experiences on KPFA’s local station board.

A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates can be found here. 

 KPFA’s Community Advisory Board announced a town hall meetingKPFA’s Community Advisory Board announced a town hall meeting

EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st. 

Reese’s comments regarding the 990: “I was deeply concerned and uncomfortable signing the tax return under penalty of perjury, when I had insufficient time to review it and could see obvious errors upon my first review.  I do not know how serious each item is, but seeing Central Services listed as revenue and not seeing Affiliates as revenue and no mention whatsoever of the CPB grant funds, was alarming to say the least. To go even further, to be compelled to sign an inaccurate document, in order to avoid serious fines and penalties against the organization, is extremely distressing.  I feel I was placed in an untenable position, by receiving the return electronically one day before (but too late to make corrections,) and the actual return the same day, that it was due . 

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Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica’s storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin’s incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.